Founded on March 3, 1901, as the National Bureau of Standards, NIST was the US federal government's first physical science research laboratory. NIST's major accomplishments of the past 100 years and their impact on industry, science and technology, the nation's economy, and the public—are described in NIST at 100: Foundations for Progress, an extensive, illustrated web site. Another fact sheet briefly summarizes the benefits of NIST's research and services.

NIST's FY 2009 resources total $1.6 billion. The agency operates in two locations: Gaithersburg, Md., (headquarters—234-hectare/578-acre campus) and Boulder, Colo., (84-hectare/208-acre campus). NIST employs about 2,900 scientists, engineers, technicians, and support and administrative personnel. Also, NIST hosts about 2,600 associates and facility users from academia, industry, and other government agencies. In addition, NIST partners with 1,600 manufacturing specialists and staff at about 400 MEP service locations around the country.

The NIST mission is to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life.

All calibrations performed by Gore Labs are traceable to NIST through an unbroken chain of comparisons. Our NIST-traceable commercial calibration option is also commonly referred to as a "Z540 compliant" calibration.

Is a NIST Test Report Number sufficient evidence of traceability?

Test report numbers issued by NIST are used solely for administrative purposes. Although they often uniquely identify documents that bear evidence of traceability, test report numbers themselves do not address the issues listed in requirements documents, and should not be considered as the sole evidence of traceability.

Contact a representative today to learn more about NIST Traceable Calibration.